Beastie Boys return to scene of notorious London show

Beastie Boys returned to the scene of one of their most notorious show – London‘s Brixton Academy – to play a career-spanning greatest hits set last night (September 4).

The band first played the venue in 1987 around the time of debut album ‘Licensed To Ill’, when they were causing a storm in the UK tabloids for alleged ‘bad boy’ behaviour, which resulted in the band being bottled onstage in Liverpool and bandmember Adam ‘Ad Rock’ Horowitz being arrested.

The stage set then also included a hydraulic penis, a DJ riser modelled on a six-pack of Budweiser and girls in cages.

This time around the more sedate show boasted a backdrop that included several leaf-shaped video screens, and a riser that spelt out ‘MMM’ for DJ Mixmaster Mike.

The 30-song set, watched by a capacity crowd including MIA, was smattered with classics such as ‘Sure Shot’, ‘Ch-Check It Out’, ‘Shake Your Rump’, ‘Time To Get Ill’, ‘Intergalactic’ and set closer ‘Sabotage’.